System and method for responding to an active shooter

ABSTRACT

An automated alert system, device and method designed to deliver crisis notifications within seconds to law enforcement personnel. The alert system and method is designed to enhance the response time to an active shooter scenario, thereby minimizing the number of causalities or victims associated with such dangerous scenarios. The system and method uses combination of various hardware components, cellular automation and partnership with first responders to provide an advanced alert system which ensures quick responses.

CROSS REFERENCE

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/830,776, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FORRESPONDING TO AN ACTIVE SHOOTER,” filed on Mar. 26, 2020, which is acontinuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/704,872, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR RESPONDING TO AN ACTIVESHOOTER,” filed on Sep. 14, 2017, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/394,249, entitled “SYSTEM ANDMETHOD FOR RESPONDING TO AN ACTIVE SHOOTER”, filed on Sep. 14, 2016, thecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

This present application also claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/950,840, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR RESPONDINGTO AN ACTIVE SHOOTER”, filed on Dec. 19, 2019, the contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD

The present invention relates to security systems and security relatedmethods; to first responder notification systems and methods; and moreparticularly, to systems and methods for responding to emergency relatedevents, such as an active shooter or other security related occurrences,which requires a response from emergency personnel, such as a lawenforcement officer or emergency medical service agent.

BACKGROUND

Active shooter situations, in which an individual actively engages inthe killing or attempted killing of people in a confined populated area,are complex situations and difficult for law enforcement agencies toprevent. A U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigationreport published in 2013 entitled, “A Study of Active Shooter Incidentsin the United States Between 2000 and 2013”, indicates that there werean average of 11.4 active shooting events annually. A closer look at theactual numbers per year indicates a higher distribution of the eventsduring the period of 2007 to 2013, 16.4 active shooter events, whencompared to the years of 2000 to 2006, where there was an average of 6.4active shooter events. During that time frame, there were 160 activeshooter events resulting in 1,043 wounded, including 486 deaths. Thestudy also indicated that most of the active shooter incidents wererapid, with 60% of those incidents ending prior to police arrival. Infact, most of those incidents ended in five minutes or less.

In 2014 and 2015, there were 20 active shooting incidents each year. Themore recent active shooter incidents, such as those carried out inParis, France or San Bernardino, Calif., seem to indicate that theattacks are evolving into more complex, sophisticated, and more deadlyoccurrences. Each of these attacks included multiple gunmen, with Parishaving 7 to 9 attackers. Moreover, there were indications that suchattacks were politically or religiously motivated and possibly fundedand sponsored by state terrorism. In 2016, the largest mass shootingoccurred in Orlando, where an active shooter occurrence resulted thedeaths of 49 individuals, and 50 more wounded. Such trends indicate aneed for better police training in order to minimize the number ofindividual deaths or injuries during an active shooter occurrence.

Most emergency situations require a quick response to best neutralize adangerous situation. Given the lethality and ability to kill or injurylarge numbers of people in a short time period, a quick response toactive shooter calls is imperative. In fact, the previous plan ofdelaying entry into an active shooter environment until trained teams ofspecialty officers arrive, assess the situation, and perform a sweep ofthe building is believed not to be effective. Getting these teams inplace can result in a lot of inherent delay, providing the shooter(s)with more time to accomplish their goal, i.e. inflict more casualties.In addition, law enforcement agencies need the public to be prepared forpossible active shooter situations and know how to handle suchsituations should they arise, including being watchful for activeshooter threats. Accordingly, a system and method which allowsidentification of an active shooter situation and alerts law enforcementagencies quickly so that the law enforcement personnel can arrive at thescene as fast as possible is required.

The present invention attempts to address the need in the art byproviding a system and method designed to minimize death or injuryresulting from a security related occurrence, such as an active shooterscenario, by decreasing police, or other emergency response agencies,such as fire or medical, response time to an initial active shooteroccurrence.

SUMMARY

present invention is a proactive automated alert system and methoddesigned to deliver crisis notifications within seconds to end usersthat are needed to respond to an emergency crisis such as an activeshooter, including law enforcement personnel, or other emergency relatedpersonnel (fire and medical), or civilians, such as elected officials,and enhance the response time to the emergency service, i.e. an activeshooter scenario. The system and method uses combination of varioushardware components, cellular automation and partnership with firstresponders to provide an advanced alert system. While the emergencycrisis described throughout the application embodies an active shooterevent, the system and methods described herein can be used in otheremergency crisis events requiring response from one or more firstresponders.

As used herein, the term “first responders” refers to individuals fromone or more agencies that respond to, or may need to be informed inorder to respond to or assist in responding to, an emergency event(s) orother security related occurrence(s) which require an action, includingbut not limited to federal, state or local law enforcement agencies,fire departments, medical organizations, such as hospitals or othermedial related services, or federal, state or local governmentofficials. Such first responders may include, for example, policeofficer, sheriff, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent, U.S.Secret Service agent, U.S. Marshal, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) agent, state coordinators, countycoordinators, town coordinators, security guards, harbor police, harborpatrols, firefighters, emergency medical technicians or paramedics,physicians, nurses, homeland security agents, military organizationssuch as the national guard, federal elected officials, state electedofficials, or municipal elected officials.

In an illustrative embodiment, the present invention may include amethod of rapidly notifying one or more first responders to respond toan emergency event comprising sending data obtained from an area to bemonitored for an emergency event occurrence to a dispatch and monitorstation located remote from said area to be monitored for an emergencyevent occurrence; and sending data from said dispatch and monitorstation directly to at least one member of a rapid response network.

In an illustrative embodiment, the present invention may include asystem for direct notification to first responders about an emergencyevent for which action by the first responder is required comprising: anotification control unit configured to receive or send a digitaltransmittance; a rapid notification unit operatively linked to saidnotification control unit; a rapid dispatch and monitor stationconfigured to be in operative communication with a rapid responsenetwork; said rapid response network comprising at least one electronicdevice configured to receive and send a message related to saidemergency event directly to a first responder.

Accordingly, it is an objective of the invention to provide systems andmethods for rapid response to emergency events requiring the attentionand response of one or more first responders.

It is an objective of the invention to provide notification systems andmethods for rapid response to security related occurrences requiring theattention and response of one or more first responders.

It is yet a further objective of the invention to provide a monitoredactive shooter tactical immediate response system for the purpose ofenhancing the response time to an active shooter scenario.

It is a further objective of the invention to provide a proactiveautomated alert system designed to deliver crisis notifications withinseconds to first responders.

It is a further objective of the invention to provide a proactiveautomated alert system designed to deliver crisis notifications withinseconds to law enforcement personnel.

It is yet another objective of the invention to provide a proactiveautomated alert method designed to deliver crisis notifications withinseconds to law enforcement personnel.

It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a proactiveautomated alert system designed to enhance the response time to anactive shooter scenario.

It is a further objective of the invention to provide a proactiveautomated alert method designed to enhance the response time to anactive shooter scenario.

It is yet another objective of the invention to provide an automatedalert system and method designed to deliver crisis notifications withinseconds to law enforcement personnel and enhance the response time to anactive shooter scenario using cellular technology.

It is a still further objective of the invention provide an automatedalert system and method designed to deliver crisis notifications withinseconds to law enforcement personnel and enhance the response time to anactive shooter scenario using cellular technology and cell phones linkeddirectly to law enforcement personnel.

It is a further objective of the invention to provide a system andmethod utilizing various hardware components and cellular automation, inpartnership with first responders, to provide an advanced, rapid alertsystem.

Other objectives and advantages of this invention will become apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with anyaccompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration andexample, certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings containedherein constitute a part of this specification and include exemplaryembodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects andfeatures thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a flow chart outlining the steps of a conventional activeshooter scenario response.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of an active shooterresponse system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative embodiment of an environment that requiresmonitoring for an active shooter.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an illustrative embodiment of an activeshooter tactical response method for responding to an active shooterenvironment in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a representative screen shot of an illustrative example of theactive shooter response method/system communication to a first responderregarding an emergency event.

FIG. 6 is a representative screen shot of an illustrative example of theactive shooter response method/system communication log to a firstresponder.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative example of a video log received by a firstresponder.

FIG. 8 is a screen shot illustrating a peek-in function.

FIG. 9 is a single video image taken from the video log illustrated inFIG. 7 .

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of the components of a portableactive shooter response system.

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of a dispatch tablet in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary block diagram of the dispatch tablet.

FIG. 13 is an exemplary user interface of a kiosk user screen of thedispatch tablet.

FIGS. 14A-B are exemplary user interfaces of the alarm screens of thedispatch tablet.

FIG. 15 is an exemplary flow diagram for a process performed by thedispatch tablet.

FIG. 16 is an exemplary user interface of the alarm history screen ofthe dispatch tablet.

FIG. 17 is an exemplary system block diagram for the dispatch tablet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in variousforms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be describeda presently preferred, albeit not limiting, embodiment with theunderstanding that the present disclosure is to be considered anexemplification of the present invention and is not intended to limitthe invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.

The present invention relates to response systems and methods thatprovide notification to one or more first responder(s) in response to anemergency event or crises, or other security related occurrences, whichrequires action the one or more first responders. As an illustrativeembodiment, the emergency event described herein is an active shooterscenario where an individual(s) is in a location firing a weapon at oneor more occupants of that location. As such, the system and or methodsare referred to herein as an active shooter response (ASR) system. Whilethe emergency event/crisis embodies an active shooter event and isdescribed as an ASR system, the system and methods described herein canbe used in other emergency or security related crises or eventsrequiring response from one or more first responders.

The ASR system provides a method in which an individual victim (a personlocated in an area where the active shooter is targeting, i.e. shooting,or in the line of fire/shooting) or potential victim (a person locatedin an area where the active shooter may go to target additionalindividuals, such as another room, a closet, a bathroom, or otherlocations within the environment) in an active shooter environment caninitiate a series of events that result in rapid first responder, suchas law enforcement personnel, notification and response. In addition tothe rapid response, law enforcement personnel may obtain basic knowledgeas to where the active shooter environment is located.

FIG. 1 illustrates the current response to an active shooter. This typeof emergency event/crisis begins when an active shooter (A/S) enters anactive shooting environment site, see step 12. The active shootingenvironment site may be, for example, a commercial business (randomperson entering the business or as a result of disgruntled employee orother workplace violence), government or municipality building, a mall,a school, a school campus, an entertainment building such as a movietheater, a sporting venue such as a football or baseball stadium, anight club, a hospital, or a transportation center such as an airport ortrain station, port or port facility, or any infrastructure. In thetypical active shooter scenario, the shooter (or shooters) enters thesite discharging the ammunition/bullets from his/her gun(s), causinginstantaneous chaos, fear and disorientation. The individual causing thechaos, fear and disorientation may have a knife or machete in additionto, or in place of a gun. Individuals who are not immediately injured,or are non-incapacitated, must contact emergency personnel to obtainhelp, see step 14. Based on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)statistics, the response time to make a first call for help from themoment the active shooter scenario commences can be from between 1-5minutes. Typically, the contact is via phone and a call to 911, see step16. While most people have cell phones, individuals may not always havethem on hand in a work environment; some cell phones fail to givelocation and it is up to the individual caller to provide suchinformation, see 18A. Use of landlines provides emergency personnel withthe specific location of the site, see 18B. However, in addition tofinding and using a phone, which could expose the individual to harm ifthe active shooter sees what is occurring, the caller must articulate tothe 911 dispatcher what is happening and where the action is occurring,see step 20. The phone call may not provide the 911 dispatcher withclear information, as the caller may be hurt, disoriented, shocked, orunder stress and afraid to be seen by the active shooter. As a result,reporting to a 911 dispatcher can generally take between 1-5 minutes, orlonger, to complete.

Once the 911 dispatcher obtains enough information, he/she then relaysthe information about the active shooter scenario to a law enforcementdispatcher, see step 22. This action generally takes about 10-60seconds. Once the law enforcement dispatcher obtains the necessaryinformation, that information is passed on to police road patrols forresponse, see 24. This action generally takes about 5-60 seconds. Thecall to police road patrols is generally sent only to officers on dutyand who have their radios on. It is estimated that approximately 15% to20% of all agency officers are listening to their radio at any giventime. Once the call is sent to road patrols, law enforcement responds tothe site. The information they obtained from the 911 call is typicallythe only information they will receive. Once at the site, an activeshooter protocol is initiated, see step 26. This action generally takesabout 2-10 minutes.

While the conventional active shooter response scenario described inFIG. 1 provides for law enforcement personnel to arrive at an activeshooter scene, the response suffers from several deficiencies. Thecurrent conventional response to end active shooter scenarios must berapid response. This entails that a team of law enforcement personnelarrive at the scene as fast as possible, as waiting even several minutesfor all personnel to arrive and amass an entry team can result inadditional injuries, or worse, more casualties. In addition to rapidresponse, knowing the situation law enforcement may face is critical toending the violence with minimal injuries or fatalities. Once one ormore law enforcement personnel arrive at a scene, they do not alwayshave or receive reliable information as to what may be happening inside.Law enforcement personnel must, therefore, enter a dangerous situationsomewhat blind to what is happening. This situation is dangerous to thelaw enforcement personnel as well as any non-shooters remaining in theactive shooter environment. While current 911 response systems result ina response measure in minutes, such actions may not be fast enough; andgiven the chaos created, first responders are often in the dark as towhat may actually be occurring, i.e. where the shooter is actuallylocated and what he/she looks like, inside the emergency environment.This is critical because there may be many injuries and it may bedifficult for law enforcement to tell the difference between the activeshooter and others within the active shooting environment.

Referring to FIG. 2 , a schematic illustration of an embodiment of anemergency notification response system, referred to generally as activeshooter response (ASR) system 100, is illustrated. The active shooterresponse system 100 contains various hardware components placed at anenvironment 102 which requires monitoring for an active shooter, as wellas other components which are operatively connected to the environment102 which requires monitoring for an active shooter. Preferably, theoperative connection relies on wireless systems and technology, buthardwired systems and technology may be employed. The environment 102which requires monitoring for an active shooter is illustrated as abusiness setting having building structure 104, see FIG. 3 , housing aplurality of internal offices, referred to generally as 106, andindividually as 106A-1061. While the environment 102 which requiresmonitoring for an active shooter is illustrated as a commercial businessstructure, other environments such as a school, federal or stategovernment building, a school campus, a night club, restaurant, a sportsarena, a movie theater, a music venue, or any other environment thatcontains people may be used.

An all-purpose room 108 may provide a place for individuals within thecompany to eat, socialize, or just relax. Offices 106 and theall-purpose room 108 (designated as the inner portion of the inside ofthe building) may be separated from the entrance 110 of the building 104via a wall 112 (defined as the outer portion of the inside of thebuilding). Individuals located within the offices 106 are accessible byan internal building door 114. To monitor who enters in and out of thebuilding structure 104, a front desk 116 is placed in the outer portionof the inside the building.

Positioned under the front desk 116 is a rapid notification unit,illustrated herein as a panic button 118. The panic button 118 isoperatively connected to a control panel 120. Preferably, the panicbutton 118 is operatively linked, 122, to the control panel 120 throughwireless technology. The wireless technology may be, for example,cellular GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) communications orother cellular communications, such as, for example CDMA, LTE, 2G, 3G,4G, and 5G communications. However, wired technology can link the panicbutton 118 to the control panel 120. In either case, should a useractivate the panic button 118, several actions will begin. First, thecontrol panel 120 can be programmed to receive a signal, i.e. from thepanic button 118, and notify a rapid dispatch and monitor station oragency 124 through a linked, wireless or wired connection 126 and/or asecondary central station 128. The rapid dispatch and monitor station oragency 124 is linked 129 to a rapid response system network 130comprising of one or more electronic devices capable of receiving,processing, or displaying said data of one or more first responders 132.The electronic devices could be, for example, smart cell phones (mobilepersonal computer with a mobile operating system with features usefulfor mobile or handheld use; smartphones typically have the ability toplace and receive voice/video calls and create and receive textmessages, have a note-taking application, an event calendar, mediaplayer, video games, GPS navigation, digital camera and video camera;smartphones are designed to access the Internet through cellularfrequencies or Wi-Fi and can run a variety of third-party softwarecomponents, such as “apps”; they typically have a color display with agraphical user interface that covers the front surface, the display maybe a touchscreen that enables the user to use a virtual keyboard to typewords, numbers, and other characters, and press onscreen icons toactivate “app” features) or computer tablets. The secondary centralstation 128 is linked 134 to a 911 dispatcher 136; the 911 dispatcher136 being linked 138 to a law enforcement dispatch 140, i.e. a localmunicipality police department. The law enforcement dispatch 140 islinked 142 to one or more road patrol police cars or units 144.

The rapid dispatch and monitor station or agency 124 may be, forexample, a remote location that has the hardware (electronic devicessuch as computers with software systems and databases) configured forreceiving and processing all the data received from the one or morecomponents (either from the control panel 120 or directly from each ofthe individual components) of the active shooter response system 100.The hardware is also configured for transmitting such data to the rapidresponse system network 130 and, ultimately, to the one or more firstresponders 132.

In addition to providing notification to various agencies that form theactive shooter response system 100, activation of the panic button 118may also activate additional hardware components. The active shooterresponse system 100 may also include an audible device 146, visualindicator device 148, or an image capture device 150 connected 152,wirelessly or wired, to the control panel 120. The audible device 146may be an audible alarm or siren that produces a noise to alert thoseinside, as well as outside, the building 104 of a danger. The siren canbe programmed to use different sounds or different sound levels. Onceone siren is activated, any other siren within the building 104 orassociated with the active shooter response system 100 may be triggered.In this manner, should an active shooter begin in one part of abuilding, i.e., the fourth floor, workers in other parts of thebuilding, for example the third floor or cafeteria, will be alerted ofthe situation via the siren. The visual indicator device 148 may be astrobe light, such as a blue strobe light designed to disorientate theactive shooter and provide notification to a person approaching thebuilding from the outside of the active shooter scenario. In order todisorient the active shooter, the strobe light can be configured toprovide flicker vertigo, or the Bucha effect, which causes an imbalancein brain-cell activity as a result of the exposure to low-frequencyflickering (or flashing) of a relatively bright light. The image capturedevice 150 is preferably a camera. A motion sensor (or an infraredmotion detector with data/image capture capability) 154 allows thecamera to take a still picture upon motion within the room. As shown inFIG. 3 , the audible device 146, visual indicator device 148, or animage capture device 150 may be placed on wall 112, but facing theinterior portion. Alternatively, the audible device 146, visualindicator device 148, or image capture device 150 may be separated andplaced in any location within the building 104. Panic buttons 118 mayalso be placed anywhere within building, such in an office, see Office1, 106A, or in the all-purpose room 118. In addition, individualsworking within the building may have a portable panic button 118 to beworn around their neck or placed in their pockets. As illustrated inFIG. 3 , an individual 145A may be wearing lanyard 147 holding awearable, portable panic button 149 around the user's neck, or anindividual 145B may be wearing wearable, portable panic button 151around his/her wrist, similar to a watch.

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative embodiment of an active shooter responsemethod, referred to generally as a method for rapid response to anactive shooter scenario 200, for responding an active shooterenvironment. As with a conventional response to an active shooter, themethod for rapid response to an active shooter scenario 200 begins withan active shooter entering a site, 202. The site contains all thenecessary components of the active shooter immediate response system100, such as described in FIGS. 2 and 3 . In the illustrative example,an active shooter enters building 104. As the active shooter entersbuilding 104, a company worker sees the situation and activates thepanic button 118, see step 204. Activation of the panic button 118begins the active shooter response method. The panic button 118wirelessly communicates with control panel 120. The control panel 120sends a wireless communication, see step 208, to a rapid dispatch andmonitor station 124, see step 210, and to a secondary central monitoringstation 128, see step 212. In a preferred embodiment, the signal sent tothe rapid dispatch and monitor station 124 or to the secondary centralmonitoring station 128 is a cellular GSM (Global System for MobileCommunications) network. It will be appreciated that other cellularcommunication networks may be used including, for example, CDMA, LTE,and other 2G, 3G, 4G and/or 5G communication networks. Alternatively,the panic button may be configured to send a cellular GSM communicationor other cellular communication to the rapid dispatch and monitorstation 124. The system 100 may use components that utilizeFrequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS), in which signals aretransmitted by rapidly switching carrier among frequency channels. Thecommunications may include one or more of a short message service (SMS),email, a phone call, a push notification or the like. The active shooterresponse system 100 may be designed to prevent tampering, such asthrough a crash and smash intrusion. Such system may utilize the systemand method described by U.S. Pat. No. 8,395,494, the contents of whichare herein incorporated by reference.

The rapid dispatch and monitor station 124 contains a rapid responsesystem 130 for providing a rapid deployment. As an illustrated example,the rapid response system 130 includes a database 131 (see FIG. 2 ) ofcell phone numbers for all law enforcement personnel, such as policeofficers in predetermined area, predetermined city or municipality, orcounty. The database 131 may also include email addresses or IPaddresses for law enforcement personnel or other electronic devices,such as a tablet, to deliver such information. Once the rapid dispatchand monitor station 124 receives notification, communications through,for example, instant text messages or emails are sent to all personnelin the rapid response system 130, see step 214. Additionally, the rapiddispatch and monitor station 124 may send communications to a tablet at,for example, the 911 dispatch center, a law enforcement office, a policestation, a police dispatch center, a site security office, Public SafetyAnswering Points (PSAPS), and/or the like, as discussed in furtherdetail hereinafter. Accordingly, all law enforcement would receive anotice that there was an active shooter scenario at building 104. Toensure the law enforcement get to the proper place, emergencyenvironment information, such as the site address, as well as thelocation within the building 104 where the panic button was activated,is provided to the responding law enforcement. As additional panicbuttons 118 are pressed, the cell phones of the law enforcementpersonnel, which form the rapid response system 130, are notified viatext or email, preferably in real time, see step 216. All lawenforcement personnel seeing the text or email message would thenproceed to the building 104 rapidly and activate the active shooterprotocol, see step 218.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative example of a notification communication 213 afirst responder would receive. The notification communication is shownas a text message that would be received by a first responder that ispart of the rapid response system 130. The text message is designed toinclude information that helps the first responder perform his/her joband includes, for example, an indication as to what the incident is,i.e., an active shooter and where the incident is taking place, i.e. atCity Hall Lobby. As these incidents tend to be dynamic occurrences andchange over time, the first responder may receive a notificationcommunication log 215, see FIG. 6 , which includes a plurality of textmessages. As shown in FIG. 6 , multiple reports about the active shooterhas been communicated to the first responder. The first text box 217Aindicates the first report of the active shooter at City Hall, via apanic alarm. The third text box 217B indicates that Mayor Jones' officereported the active shooter at City hall. This may indicate that theshooter has moved from the lobby to the location near the Mayor'soffice. Text block 217C indicates a third report of the active shooterfrom the City Hall Conference Room.

Once the secondary central station 128 receives the cellular GSMcommunication or other cellular communication, the central station 128attempts to contact customer/site first 219, and then calls the 911dispatcher, see step 220. The 911 dispatcher sends a message to thelocal law enforcement dispatcher, who then messages road patrols, seestep 222. The road patrols notified may proceed to the building 104rapidly, and activate the active shooter protocol, see step 218.

While individual law enforcement officers are being notified of anactive shooter scenario based on the activation of the panic button 118,the control panel 120 is active to perform additional functions, seestep 224. The control panel 120 activates the use of the strobe light148, see step 226. The strobe light 148 is designed to provide a light,preferably blue light, at a wavelength that can disorient the activeshooter, see step 228, and provide external notification (strobe lightplaced on the exterior of the building) to alert law enforcement of thedanger as they approach the building. The strobe light may also providenotification to those occupants that are inside of the building, but notat the location where the incident occurred. This would allow thoseindividuals an opportunity to escape the building 104 or move to aremote, safe location inside of the building.

In addition to the activation of a strobe light, an audible alarm 146 istriggered, see step 232. The audible alarm 146 can be a siren set at aparticular decibel level, such as 120 decibels, see 234. The decibellevel can be set at a particular level designed to disorient the activeshooter, 236. The activation of the audible alarm 146 also alerts theindividuals on site that there is an active shooter and that lawenforcement has been notified and is in route, 238.

Activation of the panic button 118 may also trigger the use of camera150. Upon activation, the camera may provide a photograph, or multiplephotographs, of the situation. The camera may be coupled to a motionsensor so that, upon triggering of the panic button 118 and detection ofmotion, i.e. movement of the active shooter, photographs are taken, see240. Any photographs taken by camera 150 are sent to law enforcementpersonnel or other first responders, see 242. Images may be sent to apolice station directly, 244, and to the cell phones of the lawenforcement personnel that form the rapid response system 130. Thecamera 150 may also be configured to provide real time or live images tofirst responders or provide first responders with videotaped recordingsof any action, i.e. the shooter shooting or moving within a particulararea of the building 104, as detected by the motion sensor.

FIG. 7 is a screen shot of an illustrative embodiment of a video log 241provided to the first responder as part of the rapid response system130. The video log 241 provides the first responder with images,243A-243F obtained from one or more cameras 150 activated as a result ofa panic button 18 or sensor activation. Each image may be generated froma specific camera, or the images may be from a single camera. The firstresponder may be able to see the images as a static image only, as arecorded image showing a predetermined time period. Additionally, theimages may allow the first responder to “peek in”, access, see FIG. 8,245 , in which case the user is able to view the area shone by thecamera in real time, live viewing. FIG. 9 provides a close-up view ofimage 243C.

As the active shooter moves through the building 104, additional panicbuttons 118 may be activated. This allows the alarm cycle to repeat,246, and updates as the additional buttons are activated. Having thealarm cycle repeat may be important, as it may provide additional imagesto the law enforcement personnel. More importantly, it may provideresponding law enforcement personnel with a more accurate location as towhere the active shooter is within the affected environment. As shown inFIG. 4 , it is estimated that the current methods will result in aresponse somewhere between 10 seconds and 10 minutes, 20 seconds 248.

One of the key components of the ASR method and system is the ability toprovide rapid and informational notification to individual firstresponders that form part of the rapid notification unit. This can becritical in various emergency/crisis events. In a case study evaluatingthe response of an active shooter scenario which resulted in ninedeaths, occurring June 2015, at a church near Charleston, S.C., USA, thefirst unit to arrive on scene occurred 8 plus minutes after the shootingbegan. A person in the church attempted to call 911 using a cell phone,but was unsuccessful. The first successful call to 911 (from a differentindividual than the unsuccessful attempt) occurred 5 minutes after theshooter pulled out a weapon and began shooting. Despite an officer beingless than one minute from the church when the shooting began, it tookeight minutes and eight seconds using the conventional emergency systemresponse for that officer to receive the information and arrive at thesite to respond. By that time, the shooting had ended and the shooterescaped. If the church was equipped with the ASR system and methods, itis believed that any person in the church could have activated panicbutton (such as a wall mounted panic button 118) to begin thenotification process. In addition, the first person who attempted tocall 911 using a cell phone could have activated portable panic button(see lanyard 147/panic button 149, or watch like panic button 151)rather than attempting to use a damaged phone that was unsuccessful. Anaudible alarm could have been used to provide sound inside and outsidethe church and the shooter's comfort zone could have been disrupted bythe sirens/strobe. More importantly, a direct text of the incident couldhave been sent to the officer within 2-10 seconds. In that case, thatofficer may have been on scene in approximately 1-2 minutes, rather thanthe 8 plus minutes. In addition, the officer and other first respondersmay have been notified (more law enforcement agents and paramedics and alocal hospital) and also able to review images from an image/motionsensor.

In a second scenario, an individual entered a Florida airport in 2016and began randomly shooting, killing 5 individuals. First responderswere notified of the active shooter via 911 dispatched calls, but onlyafter the shooter had fired all ammunition. Officers in other parts ofthe airport did not respond because they could not hear the shots beingfired. It was determined that there was a law enforcement officeroutside the terminal doors of where the shooting took place. He wasunable to respond because he did not hear the shots when it began. Itwas also determined that first responders where confused as to thelocation of the shooter, and they were actually dispatched to multiplelocations due to misinformation. Had the law enforcement officer outsidethe terminal been directly notified using the ASR system and method, hemay have been able to respond within 2-10 seconds.

FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic representation of the ASR system 100shown as a portable system in which one or more individual componentsare transported in a carrying case 300. The case 300 carries the controlpanel 120, the siren/strobe light(s) 146, the panic button(s) 118, theportable panic button(s) such as a lanyard 147/panic button 149, orwatch like panic button 151, and camera(s) 150. Each of the componentsare operatively linked together (represented by broken line 302) tofunction, individually or as a whole system, in any manner as describedherein when set up at a site.

FIG. 11 schematically illustrates a dispatch tablet in accordance withembodiments of the invention. FIG. 12 is an exemplary block diagram ofthe dispatch tablet. The tablet 1100 is configured to be a dedicatedstand-alone device that can provide instant notification of an incident.The tablet 1100 may be located at, for example, the 911 dispatch center,a law enforcement office, a police station, a police dispatch center, asite security office, Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPS), and/or thelike

As shown in FIG. 11 , the tablet 1100 includes a display 1104. As shownin FIG. 12 , the tablet also includes a processor 1204, a memory 1208, acellular transceiver 1216, a speaker 1220. As shown, for example, inFIG. 12 , the cellular transceiver 1216 is coupled to the processor1204. The memory 1208, speaker 1220 and display 1104 are also coupled tothe processor 1204. The display 1104 is also a user interface. Thetablet 1100 may further include a connection for an external powersupply 1224 and an internal battery 1228. It will be appreciated thatthe tablet 1100 may include additional components than those illustratedin FIGS. 11 and 12 . An exemplary tablet 1100 that may be used is aLenovo 10.1, Model No. TB-704A.

Because the tablet 1100 includes a cellular transceiver 1216, it is ableto communicate over a cellular network and does not require connectionto Ethernet. An advantage of using a tablet with a cellular transceiver1216 is that cellular communications tend to be more secure thanEthernet or other wireless communications and therefore comply with thecyber-security policies of law enforcement agencies.

The processor 1204 is configured to operate using only dispatch software1232 stored in memory 1208 and executed on the processor 1204 so thatthe tablet 1100 can function as an alert notification system. The tablet1100 may also be configured such that it cannot be powered off. Thetablet 1100 is configured to operate in a kiosk mode when there are noactive alarm or emergency events. An exemplary screen shot of the kioskmode display 1300 is shown in FIG. 13 . The tablet 1100 may also beconfigured such that it cannot be manipulated from the kiosk (locked)screen 1300, i.e., that is only used to run the dispatch software duringan alarm or emergency.

In use, the tablet 1100 receives a notification of an alert or alarmevent via a cellular communication through the cellular transceiver1216. That alert or alarm event is provided to the processor 1204 whichexecutes the dispatch software 1232 to generate an audible and visualalert. For example, the speaker 1220 may issue an audible soundcorresponding to the audible alert and the display 1104 may display anotification of the alarm or emergency event corresponding to the visualalert. The notification may include text identifying, for example, thelocation of the incident and other incident information and portions orall of the information received in the notification may be displayed onthe tablet's display 1104. For example, the display 1104 may include thelocation, name, address and description, so that the information can berelayed to first responders. The background color of the display 1104may also change from the kiosk mode during an alarm event. For example,the background color of the display 1104 in the kiosk mode may be black,but, during an alarm or emergency event, the background color of thedisplay 1104 may alternate between red and blue. Exemplary illustrationsof the user interface 1400 of the display during an alert or alarm eventare shown in FIGS. 14A-14B. It will be appreciated that the backgroundcolor of the display 1104 may simply change to red, blue, or any othercolor (and not alternate), that more than two colors may be used andthat the interval in which the screen alternates between the two colorsmay vary. As shown in FIGS. 14A-B, the user interface 1400 also includestext 1404 describing the alarm or event based on the receivednotification. As shown in FIGS. 14A-14B, the user interface 1400 mayinclude, a “Return to Home” or “Pause” icon 1408 to silence the audiblesound and stop the display from alternating between red and blue butstill display the text 1404. If a new alarm notification is received,then the alarm is activated again, i.e., an audible sound is generatedand the display is updated to display the notification information andupdate the background colors, as discussed above. The tablet 1100 allowsan operator to dispatches first responders to the location so that theycan effectively respond to an incident.

FIG. 15 is an exemplary flow diagram of a process 1500 performed by thetablet 1100 during an alert or alarm event. As shown in FIG. 15 , theprocess 1500 beings by receiving a notification of an alarm or incident(1504). The notification received at the tablet 1100 may be the samenotification received at the remote dispatch and monitor center orcentral station as discussed above. The tablet may receive thenotification directly from the control panel 120 or the remote dispatchand monitor station 124 may deliver the notification to the tablet 1100.In embodiments, where the tablet 1100 receives the notification from thedispatch and monitor station 123, it may receive a subset of theinformation received at the remote dispatch and monitor station 124 fromthe control panel 120. In one embodiment, the remote dispatch andmonitor station 124 or control panel 120 sends an email to the tablet1100, which process the email as discussed below.

The process 1500 may continue by verifying that the receivednotification is from an approved source (1508). For example, theprocessor may verify that the email address or IP address that sent thenotification is on a list of approved sources stored in the memory 1208.

The process continues by initiating audio and visual alerts based on thereceived notification (1512). In particular, the processor 1204 extractsthe information from the notification and generates the audio and visualalerts discussed above. For example, as discussed above, the speaker mayissue a sound effect, the original background image may be replaced withfull-screen solid-colored images that rapidly alternate in color (e.g.,red to blue), and large text may be provided on the display thatcontains notification details about the alter or alarm.

The process 1500 may continue by storing information about the alert oralarm in memory (1516). By storing information about the alerts oralarms received at the tablet, it can be used for evidentiary purposesto support criminal investigations and provide accurate timelines aboutemergency incidents. The information that is stored may include date andtime stamps, location information and the like. As shown in FIG. 16 , analert history screen 1600 can be displayed that includes incidenthistory details based on the stored information. In FIG. 16 , theincidents 1604 a-e are listed in chronological order with date/timestamps. In FIG. 16 , an icon (“EXIT TO MAIN SCREEN”) 1608 is alsoprovided in the alert history screen 1600 to return to the kiosk modedisplay 1300. In one embodiment, the alert history screen is accessedfrom the kiosk mode display 1300, shown in FIG. 13 , by selection oficon 1304.

FIG. 17 illustrates a system diagram of the alert system showing thenotification being sent to the dispatch tablet 1100. FIG. 17 is similarto FIG. 2 but further includes the dispatch tablet. As shown in FIG. 17, the dispatch tablet 17 is in communication with the dispatch andmonitor station 124. As discussed above, it will be appreciated that inan alternate embodiment, as discussed above, the tablet may receivenotifications directly from the control panel.

The above-described dispatch tablet has several advantages because itprovides improved notification to a law enforcement or police dispatchcenter. No calls are required to notify first responders of the alert oralarm event. Critical information is delivered to law enforcementdispatch within seconds of an alert button being activated at afacility, allowing first responders to dispatch within seconds, notminutes, of the alert button being activated.

All patents and publications mentioned in this specification areindicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which theinvention pertains. All patents and publications are herein incorporatedby reference to the same extent as if each individual publication wasspecifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention isillustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangementherein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in theart that various changes may be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention, and the invention is not to be considered limited to whatis shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figuresincluded herein.

One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the presentinvention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain theends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. Theembodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein arepresently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended tobe exemplary, and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changestherein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which areencompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by thescope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been describedin connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should beunderstood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited tosuch specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of thedescribed modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious tothose skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for notifying first responders in anactive shooter emergency at a site, the site comprising a plurality ofactive shooter emergency panic actuators, the method comprising:receiving a notification of an activation of a first panic actuator atthe site, wherein the notification of the activation comprises a firstlocation of the activated first panic actuator at the site during theactivation of the first panic actuator; in response to receiving thenotification, issuing an identity verification request to the activatedfirst panic actuator, in response to the identity verification requestbeing satisfied: sending first alarm event data associated with theactivated first panic actuator to: a remote dispatch and monitorstation, and a plurality of first responders, wherein the first alarmevent data comprises: a location of the site, and the first location,and delivering an emergency alarm notification to at least the firstlocation; receiving a notification of an activation of a second panicactuator at the site, wherein the second panic actuator is located at adifferent location than the first location, and wherein the notificationof the activation comprises a second location of the activated secondpanic actuator at the site during the activation of the second panicactuator; and in response to receiving the notification: sending secondalarm event data associated with the activated second panic actuator to:the remote dispatch and monitor station, and a plurality of firstresponders, wherein the second alarm event data comprises: the locationof the site, and the second location; and delivering an emergency alarmnotification to at least the second location.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the first panic actuator comprises a fixed panic actuator or aportable panic actuator.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the secondpanic actuator comprises a fixed panic actuator or a portable panicactuator.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the dispatch and monitorstation further sends information regarding the active shooter emergencyto the plurality of first responders.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereinthe first alarm event data and the second alarm event data is sent to anelectronic device configured to display the first alarm event data andthe second alarm event data to the plurality of first responders.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a notification of anactivation of a third panic actuator at the site, wherein the thirdpanic actuator is located at a different location than the first andsecond locations, and wherein the notification of the activationcomprises a third location of the activated third panic actuator at thesite during the activation of the third panic actuator; and in responseto receiving the notification of the activation of the third panicactuator; sending third alarm event data associated with the activatedthird panic actuator to: the remote dispatch and monitor station, andthe plurality of first responders, wherein the third alarm event datacomprises the location of the site and the third location, anddelivering an emergency alarm notification to at least the thirdlocation.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the activated first panicactuator is an alert and alarm tablet configured to be used only as analert and alarm tablet.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the alert andalarm tablet is configured such that it cannot be selectively poweredoff by interacting with the alert and alarm tablet.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving data from one or more sensors;and sending the data from the one or more sensors to the dispatch andmonitor station.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the emergency alarmnotification comprises a sound having a decibel level sufficient todisorient the active shooter and/or a light having a wavelengthsufficient to disorient the active shooter.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein satisfying the identity verification request includes matchingan Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the activated firstpanic actuator with an entry on a list of preapproved IP addresses. 12.The method of claim 1, further comprising sending the first alarm eventdata and the second alarm event data to at least one member of a rapidresponse network.
 13. A system for notifying first responders in anactive shooter emergency at a site, the site comprising a plurality ofactive shooter emergency panic actuators comprising: a first panicactuator at the site, wherein the first panic actuator is configured tobe activated, wherein the first panic actuator is configured to generatea notification that comprises a first location of the activated firstpanic actuator at the site during the activation of the first panicactuator; a first strobe configured to deliver an emergency alarmnotification to at least the first location in response to the firstpanic actuator being activated; a second panic actuator at the site,wherein the second panic actuator is configured to be activated, whereinthe second panic actuator is configured to generate a notification thatcomprises a second location of the activated second panic actuator atthe site during the activation of the second panic actuator; a secondstrobe configured to deliver an emergency alarm notification to at leastthe second location in response to the second panic actuator beingactivated; a control panel configured to: attempt to satisfy a receivedidentity verification request associated with the activated first panicactuator, and in response to satisfying the identity verificationrequest, send first alarm event data associated with the activated firstpanic actuator to: a remote dispatch and monitor station, and aplurality of first responders, wherein the first alarm event datacomprises: a location of the site, and the first location, wherein thecontrol panel is further configured to send second alarm event dataassociated with the activated second panic actuator to: the remotedispatch and monitor station, and a plurality of first responders inresponse to the second panic actuator being activated, wherein thesecond alarm event data comprises: the location of the site, and thesecond location.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first panicactuator comprises a fixed panic actuator or a portable panic actuator.15. The system of claim 13, wherein the second panic actuator comprisesa fixed panic actuator or a portable panic actuator.
 16. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the dispatch and monitor station further sendsinformation regarding the active shooter emergency to the plurality offirst responders.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first alarmevent data and the second alarm event data is directly sent to anelectronic device configured to display the first alarm event data andthe second alarm event data to the plurality of first responders. 18.The system of claim 13, further comprising: a third panic actuator atthe site, wherein the third panic actuator is configured to beactivated, wherein the third panic actuator is configured to generate anotification that comprises a third location of the activated thirdpanic actuator at the site during the activation of the third panicactuator; and a third strobe configured to deliver an emergency alarmnotification to at least the third location in response to the thirdpanic actuator being activated; wherein the control panel is furtherconfigured to send third alarm event data regarding the active shooteremergency to: the remote dispatch and monitor station, and the pluralityof first responders in response to the third panic actuator beingactivated, wherein the third alarm event data comprises: the location ofthe site, and the third location.
 19. The system of claim 13, whereinthe activated second panic actuator is an alert and alarm tabletconfigured to be used only as an alert and alarm tablet.
 20. The systemof claim 19, wherein the alert and alarm tablet is configured such thata user interface of the alert and alarm tablet cannot be manipulatedfrom a kiosk screen while the alarm is not activated.
 21. The system ofclaim 13, further comprising: one or more sensors at the site, andwherein the control panel is further configured to send data from theone or more sensors to the dispatch and monitor station.
 22. The systemof claim 13, further comprising a speaker, and wherein the emergencyalarm notification comprises a sound having a decibel level sufficientto disorient the active shooter and/or a light having a wavelengthsufficient to disorient the active shooter.
 23. The system of claim 13,wherein attempting to satisfy the received identity verification requestincludes comparing an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with theactivated first panic actuator with a list of preapproved IP addresses.